(Reuters) Jan,8– More than 600 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a massive rocket attack on two Ukrainian military temporary camps in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday.
Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the Pentagon’s claims. There was no immediate comment on Russia’s allegations from Ukraine, but the mayor of Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russia has attacked, said earlier Sunday that no one had died in attacks on various buildings in the city. He said on Facebook that he did not.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack on buildings in Kramatorsk was in retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on Russian barracks in Makyovka, part of the Moscow-armed Donetsk region earlier this year, that killed at least 89 soldiers. .
In a statement, the ministry said it targeted Ukrainian forces using so-called trusted intelligence services. One hostel housed more than 700 Ukrainian soldiers, while another housed more than 600.
“More than 600 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed as a result of massive rocket attacks on the temporary bases of these Ukrainian military units,” the defense ministry said.
If true, it would be the biggest Ukrainian military loss since Russia invaded on February 24 last year.
